Crate making machine



Jan. 30, 1934. H, PAXTQN 1,945,120

CRATE MAKING MACHINE Filed May 24, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 30, 1934. H, PAXTQN CRATE MAKING MACHINE Filed May 24, 19512 5 Sheets-Sheet s WM e 77 W W M .4 w H r 5. p 5 2 a T g 6 1* M Ih aw w 7, 5 r

Jan. 30, 1934. H, PAXTON 1,945,120

CRATE MAKING MACHINE I Filed May 24, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 260 m/i/vrae Jan. 30, 1934. H. PAXTON CRATE MAKING MACHINE Filed May 24, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 v Patented Jan. 3Q), 1934 E3 @FFHQ CRATE MAKING MACHINE liilale Paxton, Badlands, Calif assignor to Paxton Credit Corporation, Sanger, Calif, a corporation of California Application May 24, 1932. Serial No. 613,223

20 Claims.

My invention relates to nailing machinery and is particularly useful in the manufacture of crates in which there is a considerable difference between the width and the height of the sides.

In my application for U. S. Letters Patent, Serial No. 329,230, filed December 29, 1928, I have disclosed a crate making machine in which the nailing mechanism is stationary and the work is fed beneath the nailing mechanism between nailing operations so as to space the nails in the work. In this machine means is provided for supporting the work at different levels to compensate for different dimensions of the work being disposed vertically. An automatic means is provided for accomplishing this feeding operation when the work is resting upon one of said levels.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a crate making machine of the type referred to above in which the work is automatically fed to give a predetermined spacing of the nails in the work when the work is supported upon either of two levels.

It is a further object of my invenetion to pro- 5 vide a crate making machine of this type in which a different sequence of spacings of nails is provided along the sides of the crate than upon the bottom thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide 0 a crate making machine of this type in which the determination of the sequence of spacings accomplished by the work feeding means accompanies the operation of the work supporting means which determines which of two levels the work is to be supported upon.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a crate making machine of the type above referred to in which side and bottom slats are automatically fed into position to be nailed to the crate ends by the work advancing means.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a crate nailing machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged cross-sectional views taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 13, and illustrating certain ratchet mechanisms of my invention in various stages of their operation.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line'88 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic fragmentary sectional aken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 2 and illustrating the operation of the work feeding mechanism of my invention during the nailing of a side upon a crate.

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic horizontal sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 2 and illustrating the construction of the ratchet feed bar of my invention.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 9 and illustrates the operation of the work feeding mechanism of my invention during the nailing of a bottom on a crate.

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic end view of a crate adapted to be made by the machine of my invention and illustrating the dilferent sequences with which nails are spaced on the sides and bottoms of said crate by my machine.

Fig 13. is a diagrammatic enlarged perspective view illustrating the operation of the work supporting and feeding means of my invention.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated therein comprises a crate making machine 20, this machine including a frame 21, a nailing mechanism 22, a nailing table mechanism 23, a work feeding mechanism 24, and a slat feeding mechanism 25.

The frame 21 includes heavy angle iron hori-- zontal members 30 which are connected by angle members 31 and 32, by channel members 33, and by an angle member 34. Extending upwardly from the side members 30 are channel standards 36, these being connected at their upper ends by a cross member 38.

The nailing mechanism The nailing mechanism 22 is of the typedisclosed in my copending application for U. S. Letters Patent, Serial No. 554,210, filed July 31, 1931, and accordingly will not be described in detail herein. This mechanism, however, includes nailing chucks 40 which are slidable vertically relative to the frame 21 at the upper end thereof. A nail feeding device 42 is also provided on the upper end of the frame 21 for feeding nails to the chucks 40. Each of the chucks 40 has a nail driver 43 which is connected to a reciprocating nailing frame 44, this being adapted to be reciprocated vertically by pitmans 45 mounted on cranks 46 which are fixed to opposite ends of a shaft 47, this shaft being journalled on the standards 36. The shaft '47 has a single revolution clutch 48, the shell 49 of which has a ring gear 50 which meshes with a pinion gear (not shown), the latter being fixed upon a countershaft 52. The countershaft 52 is journalled in suitable bearings provided on the frame 21 and is adapted to be rotated by an electric motor 53, as shown in Fig. 2. The nail feeding mechanism 42 includes a stripper pan 55 which is reciprocated slowly up and down by a worm and gear mechanism 56 connected with the countershaft 52. In the operation of the machine the countershaft 52 and the clutch and shell 49 rotate continuously, and the The nailing table mechanism The nailing table mechanism 23 includes fixed nailing tables 75, which are rigidly mounted on the cross members 70 and 71, and movable nailing tables 76 and 77 which are swingably mounted on these cross members. Each of the movable nailing tables 76 and 77 includes vertical bars 78 and 79 which are pivoted on the cross members 70 and 71, and work support anvils 82 which are fixed in horizontal position upon the bars 78 and 79.,

Pivotally connected to the nailing table 76 at a point below the axis on which it is mounted is a link 84, the other end of this link being pivotally connected to the nailing table 77 above the axis on which it is pivotally mounted. The link 84 extends through 2. lug 85 provided on the cross member 70 and a compression spring 86 is coiled about this link and is compressed between the lug 86 and a collar 87 on the link, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. This spring 86 yieldably retains the nailing tables 76 and 77 in upright position, as shown in this figure. Extending laterally from the nailing table 77 is an arm 88 which is connected by a link 89 to a foot pedal 90 by which the nailing tables 76 and 77 are adapted to be swung outwardly during the operation of making a crate. The foot pedal 90 is adapted to be locked in or released from its depressed position at the will of the operator. Provided on the upper ends of each of the vertical bars 79 are fingers 92, the purpose of which will be made evident hereinafter. Extending rearwardly and upwardly from the rear end of the anvil 82 of the movable nailing table 76 is a rigid arm 93, as shown in Figs. 2 and 13.

The work feeding mechanism The work feeding mechanism 24 is partly supported on an auxiliary frame including uprights 96 which extend from rear ends of the main frame side members 30 upwardly to the top of the main frame 21. The members 96 areconnected by angle iron cross members 97 and 98. The member 97 has a rearward extending guide arm 99 having a slot 100, the purpose of which will be made evident hereinafter.

The work feeding means 24 includes a pair of rigid shook guide bars whichare mounted between ends of the cross member 98 and the main frame standard 36. Carriage guide shafts 107 are also'rigidly mounted between the cross member 98 and the main frame channel standards 36. Pivotally mounted between end portions of the cross member 98 and the channel standards 36 are stop shafts 109, each of these shafts having a stop 110 and an operating finger 111 affixed thereto. The operating fingers 111 extend downwardly into the path of the fingers 92 which extend upwardly from the movable nailing tables 76 and 77, as shown in'Fig. 1. When the nailing tables 76.and 77 are in their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 1, the stops 110 are lifted upward away from the carriage guide shafts 107, and when the nailing tables 76 and 77 are swung outwardly the stops 110 drop downwardly so as to rest on the shafts 107.

Slidable on the guide shafts 107 are slide boxes 115 of a work engaging carriage 116, the latter including a main cross bar 117 from which depends uprights 118, these being connected by cross members 119, 120, and 121. Secured to and extending rearwardly from the bar 119 is a bar 125, to the upper surface of which is secured a ratchet bar 126, which will be described in detail later, the bar being braced to the cross bar 117 by a brace 127.

Secured to the carriage cross bar 120 and extending rearwardly therefrom is a slide bar 130, the latter sliding upon and being supported by the cross bar 97. Removably secured to the upper face of the slide bar is a hook arm control bar 132, a detailed description of which will be deferred until later.

Pivotally mounted at its lower end between sultable bearing lugs which extend rearwardly from the cross member 34 of the main frame is a reciprocating lever 136 which is preferably formed of channel iron, as shown, and strengthened by braces 137. Thechannel iron of lever 136 has a'web or back 138 in which are formed openings 139, 14o, and 1 11. Formed in side flanges 143 of the lever' 136 are holes 144, opposite pairs of these holes being adapted to pivotally support a slide block 145 through which a pull rod 147 is slidably received. This rod has nuts 148 threadedly received on its rear end, and an eccentric ring 149 provided on its forward end, this ring receiving the eccentric 62 so as to be reciprocated by rotation of the shaft 47. Secured to the frame cross member 71 and extending through a hole 150 in the back 138 of the lever 136 is a spring rod 151 having a collar 152 and an expansive coil spring 153 which is compressed between the collar 152 and the lever 136 so as to constantly urge this lever rearwardly.

The lever 136 extends upwardly through the slot 100 in the rearward extending guide arm.

99 and the hole 141 in this lever receives the rod 125 and ratchet bar 126, while the hole 140 receives the slide rod 130 and hook arm control bar 132. The bars 125 and 130 ride upon rollers 155 and 156, respectively, these rollers being pivotally mounted between side flanges 143 of the lever 136.

Provided upon the upper end of the lever 136 and inclining rearwardly therefrom is an extension 160, the purpose of which will be made manifest hereinafter.

The ratchet bar 126 is clearly shown in Fig. 10, this bar having notches and 166 on its opposite sides, and having lower cams 167 and 168 at its forward end, and upper cams 169 and 170 at its rearward end. Pivotally mounted on the back 138 of the lever 136 are two ratchet dogs 172 and 173, these dogs being adapted to engage notches 165 and 166 in the ratchet bar 126, but being provided with shoulders 174 which prevent more than one of these dogs from engaging said notches at a time.

Pivotally secured to the back of the lever 136 is a pair of catches 177 and 178, these catches having bevelled faces 179 and upwardly extending teeth 180, the latter being adapted to fit into notches 181 formed at the lower ends of the dogs 172 and 173, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. Extending outwardly from-the lower ends of the catches 177 and 178 are arms 182 and 183, to the outer ends of which are connected contractile springs 184 and 185, the upper ends of which connect to the lever 136. The spring 184 is substantially stronger than the spring 185 for a purpose which will be made manifest hereinafter.

The book arm control bar 132 is provided with a series of dwells 190 and 191 along opposite edges thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 11. Fixed upon the upper surface of the cross frame member 97 are blocks 195 which are equal in depth to the bar 130. Pivotally mounted on vertical axes on top of the blocks 195 are hook arms 196 and 197, the arm 196 having a hook 198 on its rear extremity and a follower lug 199 formed inwardly therefrom near the pivot of this arm with a pin 200 extending upwardly therefrom. The hook arm 197 has inner and outer hooks 202 and 203 on the rear end thereof, a follower lug 204 formed inwardly therefrom near its opposite end, and a pin 205 which extends upwardly from this arm. The hook arms 196 and 197 are continually urged towards each other by a contractile spring 208, the opposite ends of which are connected to these arms.

Lying on top of the arms 196 and 197 is a controllink210havingslots 211 and 212 formed therein,which slots receive the pins 200 and 205 of the hook arms in the manner clearly illustrated in Figs. 9 and 11. Pivotally connected to one end of the link 210 is a rod 215, the opposite end of which is provided with collars 216 and 217, that portion of the rod between these collars extending through an aperture provided in the end of the arm 93 which is secured on the movable nailing table 76, as clearly shown in Fig 13.

Slat feed mechanism 25 Supported on the upper end of the frame 21 just to the rear of the nail chucks 40 is a slat magazine 220, in front of which is provided a stripper 221, the latter permitting slats to be fed from the bottom of said magazine forwardly one at a time. Supported on the frame cross member 98 is a pair of spring rod slat supports 225 which extend forwardly beneath the magazine 220 and in front of this to yieldably support slats fed from this magazine. Journalled in suitable bearings at its opposite ends on the frame members 96 is a shaft 230, best shown in Fig. 2, this shaft having a pair of arms 231 extending downwardly therefrom, these arms having a plurality of holes 232 provided therein. The lower of these holes pivotally receive rear ends of a pair of fiat pusher rods 235, these having feed shoulders 236 which are normally held upward against the bottom-most slat in the magazine 220 by springs 237, as shown in Fig. 2. Any desired pair of the holes 232 in the arms 231 are adapted to receive forward ends of a rod yoke 240 having a stem 241 which extends rearwardly through an aperture in the rear end of a bracket 243, this being pivotally connected to the upper end of the lever arm 160. Fixed upon the stem 241 are collars 245 and 246, there being a coiled spring 247 compressed between the bracket 243 and the collar 245. 1

Operation In operating the crate making machine 20 the foot pedal 90 is first depressed so as to swing the movable nailing tables 76 and 77 laterally into their outward or inoperative positions. This releases the fingers 111 from contact by the up; ward extending fingers 92 of these nailing tables and permits the stops 110 to drop downwardly onto the guide shafts 107. The work feeding carriage 116 is now pushed rearwardly until'the slides 115 which support this carriage engage the stops 110. A group of a dozen or more slats 258 having been inserted in the magazine 220, crate ends 260, as shown in Fig. 12, are now positioned on the lower nailing table in vertical alignment with the nailing chucks 40, the rear edges of these ends engaging the carriage 116.

During the time that the carriage 116 was being moved rearwardly the lever 136 was in its normal position of rest, as shown in full lines in Figs. 2, 9, and 11. This position is determined by the nuts 148 on the rod 147 engaging the slide block 145 and resisting further rearward movement of the lever 136 by the spring 153 when the eccentric 62 stops in its normal halting position, as shown in Fig. 2. During this movement of the carriage 116 the dogs 172 and. 173 are held out of engagement with the notches 165 and 166 of the ratchet bar 126 by these dogs being supported in their outward positions by the catches 177 and 178, as shown in Fig. 4.

The swinging of the movable nailing. table 76 into its outward position, as above described,

caused the arm 93 to engage the outer collar 216 on the rod 215, this rod thereby drawing the link 210 in a leftward direction, as illustrated in Fig. 9, and positively swinging the hook arm 196 so that the hook 198 thereof cannot engage the lever 136, and at the same time release the hook arm 197 so that it may respond to the spring 208 to assume a position which is determined by engagement of the follower lug 204 on this hook arm with the adjacent edge of the hook arm control bar 132.

When the carriage 116 is stopped by the stops 110, the ratchet bar 126 has been moved backwardly to the point where the dogs 172 and 173 lie in the plane indicated in Fig. 10 by the line XX.

In the description which follows it will be made evident that at the completion of making a crate in the machine 20 the bottom-most slat 258 in the magazine 220 is partially fed forwardly therefrom by the flat pusher rods 235, as shown in Fig. 2. The slat thus fed is utilized in the manufacture of the next crate started in the machine. In the description of the making of a crate which follows this slat will be referred to as slat 258a.

During the operation of the machine 20 the motor 53 is continuously running and the countershaft 52 is continuously rotated thereby. With the parts of the machine positioned as above described, with the magazine 220 loaded with slats 258 and with the crate ends 260 supported on the lower nailing table 75, as described, the operator now presses the foot pedal 60 so as to throw in the clutch 48 which results in the rotation of the shaft 47 in the direction of the arrow 290. This rotates the cranks 46 so as to actuate the nailing mechanism 22 to drive a pair of nails N into the work, but before the nails are actually driven from the chucks 40, the feed lever 136 is swung forwardly by rotation of the eccentric 62 to its forwardmost position 292, shown by broken lines in Figs. 9 and 11, thus completing the feeding of slat 258a from the magazine 220 into its proper position beneath these chucks to be nailed to the crate ends 260. Immediately as this feeding movement is completed, nails N are driven from the chucks 40 through slat 258a and into the ends 260.

This forward movement of the lever 136 also brings the spring catch 178 into engagement with the cam 168, thereby releasing the dog 173 and allowing this to swing inward as shown in Fig. 5.

. is shown in Figs. 2, 9, and 11.

With the immediately following rearward movement of the lever 136, as the eccentric 62 passes dead center, the spring catch 178 rides off the cam 168 and thereupon yieldably presses the dog 173 against the right-hand edge of the position, and upon returning again come in contact with the slide block 145 so that as the eccentric 62 returns to its original position, as shown in Fig. 2, the lever 136 is again swung forwardly to the full line position in which it The purpose of the hook 203 limiting the rearward movement of the lever 136 is to prevent the dog 173 which is now disposed in operative relation with the notches 166 of the ratchet bar 126, as shown in Fig. 5, from passing rearwardly into engagement with the second of these notches 166.

The rearward movement of the lever 136-to its intermediate position 294, as shown in Fig. 9, permits the dog 173 to drop into the foremost of the ratchet notches 166 so that on the forward return of the lever 136'to its full line position, the carriage 116 and the work resting rearwardly against this are pushed forwardly a distance corresponding to that which the dog 1'73 moves forwardly after engaging the forward face of this no'tch.166. In case the foot pedal 60 were to be but momentarily depressed in the operation of the crate making machine 20, the shaft 47 would make but a single revolution and stop, and the lever 136 wouldthen stop on its full line position at the completion of this revolution. It is the usual practice in the operation of this machine, however, in nailing a series of side or bottom slats on a crate, to hold the foot pedal 60 down from the beginning of the nailing of a series of three slats until this is completed. When operating the machine in this manner the lever 136, at the completion of the first rotation of the shaft 47, does not stop but continues to move forwardly to its forwardmost position 292, the carriage 116, of course, continuing forwardly with it.

It is now to be noted that the nails N are driven into the work before the latter is moved from its original position on the nailing table mechanism 23. The work is then fed forward as above described so that the second pair of nails N which is drivenduring thesecond revolution of the shaft 47, is spaced a certain distance from the first pair of nails N This distance is referred to hereinafter as distance A andin the illustrated embodiment of the invention all adjacent pairs of nails in any given slat are spaced apart this distance. i However, the space between the pairs of nails driven into adjacent edges of adjacent slats is, on the crate sides, equal to the distance B, as indicated in Fig. 12, While on the crate bottoms this space is equal to distance C.

The spacing of adjacent pairs of nails in the crate sides and bottom is accomplished by engagement of one or the other of the ratchet dogs 172 or 173 with the notches 165 or 166 on the ratchet bar 126" during a forward movement of the feeding lever 136. As in all cases any such feeding movement terminates with the lever 136 in its forwardmost position 292, as shown in Figs. 9 and 11, it is essential in order to permit clearance for one of the dogs 172 or 173 to drop into a certain desired notch 165 or 166, that the lever 136 swing rearward from its position 292 a slightly greater distance than the distance between this notch and the notch just previously engaged. These notches, of course, are spaced apart exactly the distances which it is desired to feed the carriage 116 and the work, these distances being, as above noted, distances A, B, and C.

As will be made clear hereinafter, therefore, the lever 136 is swung so as to move the upper end of this lever over distances A, B, and C, these distances being slightly in excess, respectively, of the distances A, B, and C. To accomplish movement over distance A the lever 136 swings etween its forward positionmost 292 and an intermediate rearward position 294. In order to move distance B, the lever 136 swings between position 292 and an intermediate rearward position 296. To move the distance C the lever 136 swings between its position 292 and its full rearwardmost position 298. The positions 292, 294, 296, and 298 are indicated in broken lines in Figs. 9 and 11.

As the driving of the nails N is being accomplished during the second revolution of the shaft 47, the lever 136 is again swung rearward to its intermediate position 294 where it is stopped by engaging the hook 203 on the hook arm 197 and is returned forward during the completing of this revolution and the starting of the next to its forwardmost position 292. During this forward movement, the ratchet dog 173 comes into en- 1" gagement with the second of the notches 166 so as to again feed the carriage 116 forward a distance A. Thus, the third pair of nails N driven in the slat 258a during the third revolution of the shaft 4'7 is spaced distance A from the nails N The slat 258a is now nailed onto the crate ends 260 with three pairs of nails N N and N It is now necessary to feed another slat 2581) onto the crate ends 260 and nail this slat to these ends with the slat 258D properly spaced from the slat 258a. This spacing requires that the nails N in the slat 258a and the first pair of nails N in the second slat 25% are to be equal to the disward, as above described, the hook arm control bar 132 has moved forward with this carriage so that when the carriage was fed forward as nails N were driven, the rear end of the cam dwell 191 engaged the cam follower lug 204 on the hook arm 197 so as to swing this arm into position 295, indicated by broken lines in Fig. 9. In this position the hook 203 is disposed out of the path of the lever 136 and the hook 202 is disposed in the path of this lever. Accordingly, during the third revolution of the shaft 47 the lever 136 is permitted to swing backwardly to its second intermediate position 296, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 9, in which this lever is stopped by the hook 202 of the latch 197. This swings the upper end of the lever 136 rearward the distance B. distance B from the second notch 166, this movement of the lever 136 permits the dog 173 to drop into the third notch 166 and feed the carriage 116 forward distance B when the lever 136 returns to its position 292.

Rearward movement of the lever 136 over the distance B is sufficient to swing the arms 231 backward into their dotted line positions 297 so As the third notch 166 is spaced rearward tance B. As the carriage 116 has been fed forthat as the lever 136 returns forwardly the next slat 25% will be fed from the bottom of magazine 220 into position under the chucks 40 to be nailed upon the crate ends so that the slat 2581) is properly spaced from the first slat 258a. The feeding of the carriage 116 forward the distance B also brings the next dwell 191 on the hook arm control bar 132 opposite the cam follower lug 204 of the hook arm 197 and permits this hook arm to be swung inwardly by the spring 208 into the full line position in which it is shown in Fig. 9. Thus, during the two succeeding revolutions of the shaft 47, the lever 136 is only swung through the distance A. This causes the dog 173 to engage successively the fourth and fifth of the notches 166, thereby causing pairs of nails N and N to be driven into the slat 258b, adjacent pairs of which are spaced apart distance A, as shown in Fig. 12.

The feeding of the third slat 258c'is accomplished in identically the same manner as described for the second slat 258b, and the work as well as this slat is positioned for the proper driving of pairs of nails thereinto by successive engagement of the dog 173 with the sixth, seventh, and eighth of the notches 166. As the shaft 47 starts to rotate in the driving of the last pair of nails in the slat 2580, the operator removes his foot from the foot pedal 60 so that as this revolution is completed the shaft 47 comes to a stop in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2. As the eccentric 62 passed over dead center during the first part of this final revolution it moved the carriage 116 forward to proper position for the work to receive the final pair of nails in the third slat and also moved the hook arm control bar 132 forward so as to deflect the hook arm 197 into its dotted line position 295 by engagement of the rear end of the rearmost of the cam dwells 191 with the follower lug 204 on this hook arm. The lever 136 is thus free to move back to its second intermediate position 296 during the final revolution of the shaft 47, and this movement of the lever 136 brings the dog 173 into engagement with the cam 170, as shown in Fig. 7, thus lifting this dog so that it is caught and held in lifted position by the catch 178, as shown in Fig. 4.

The carriage 116 is now free to be pushed rearwardly. This is preferably accomplished through the work which is first lifted and swung 90 degrees about its transverse axis so that the crate ends are disposed above the movable nailing table anvils 82, whereupon the foot pedal 90 is released, causing these nailing tables to swing inwardly and support the work. The work is then pushed against the carriage 116 to slide this into its rearmost position. The inward swinging of the movable nailing tables 76 and '77 causes the fingers 92 to contact the fingers 111, thereby lifting the stops 110 out of the path of the slides 115 upon which the carriage 116 is suspended, and thereby permitting the carriage slides 115 to move clear back into contact with the frame cross member 98.

The final long movement of the lever 136 over the distance B, at the conclusion of the nailing of the third slat 2580 on the side of the crate being made, retracted the slat feeding links 235 sufficiently so that a slat 258d was engaged and pushed partly forward from the bottom of the magazine 220 at the time the rotation of the shaft 47 was stopped. Now with the work positioned for nailing on the bottom slats, this partially fe'd slat 258d is in readiness to be pushed forward under the nail chucks 40 during the first part of the first revolution of the shaft 47 for the purpose of nailing on the bottom slats of the crate.

As a result of the swinging in of the nailing tables 76 and 77 the rod 215 was pushed inwardly, thus shifting the link 210 to the right with the result shown in Fig. 11; that is, the hook arm 1971s swung rightwardly out of contact with the hook arm control bar 132 and the hook arm 196 is released so as to be permitted to respond to the spring 208 which maintains the cam follower lug 199 of this hook arm in contact with the adjacent edge of the hook arm control bar 132. The full rearward movement of the carriage 116 moved the ratchet bar 126 rearwardly a sufi'icient distance so that the lower right-hand cam 168 passed the catch 178 and released this from the dog 173, thus allowing the latter to drop downwardly against the ratchet bar 126 as shown in Fig. 5. The dogs 172 and 173 are now positioned in the plane indicated by the line YY in Fig. 10.

The foot pedal 60 is now depressed and held down through the nailing of nine pairs of nails in which three slats are automatically nailed onto the bottom of the crate, this being accomplished in practically identically the same manner as described above for the side slats but with different spacings of the slats. During the initial Portion of the first revolution of the shaft 47 the lever 136 is moved forwardly from its full line position in which it is shown in Fig. 11 to its dotted line position 292, this movement bringing the catch 177 opposite the lower cam 167 of the ratchet bar 126, thereby releasing the dog 172 from the catch 177 and permitting this dog to drop downwardly against the left side of the ratchet bar 126. Then, as the lever 136 swings rearwardly to its position 294 during the balance of the first revolution of the shaft 47, the catch 177 rides off of the cam 167 and is thereupon urged inwardly against the dog 172 by its spring 184, as shown in Fig. 3. It will be recalled that the dog 173 is at this time released from the catch 178 and is pressed inwardly by this catch, but owing to the fact that the arm 182 is longer than the arm 183 and the spring 184 is stronger than the spring 185, and to the fact that the shoulders 1 74 extend inwardly so that it is impossible for both of the dogs 172 and 173 to engage the ratchet bar 126 at the same time,

the dog 172 is yieldably pressed inwardly into contact with the left-hand edge of the ratchet bar 126 by the pressure of the catch 177 against this dog, and the dog 173 is lifted out of engagement with the ratchet bar 126 by engagement of the shoulders 174.

' In nailing the slats onto the crate bottom it is noted in Fig. 12 that successive pairs of nails in each slat are spaced distances A, while the last pair of nails in any slat and the first pair of nails in the next adjacent slat are spaced distances C. The feeding of the carriage 116 for- Ward over the distance C is accomplished by the movement of the lever 136 from its rearmost position 298 to its foremost position 292. This movement, of course, is accomplished as shown in Fi 11 when the hook arm 196 is shifted outward by the follower dog 199 riding out of one of the dwells 190 along the left-hand edge of the hook arm control bar 132. It will be noted that the distance C is greater than the combined distances A and B. This explains the necessity for having two hooks 202 and 203 on the hook arm 197, as it would be impossible to use the maximum throw of the lever 136, that is, the distance C shown in Fig. 11, in operating the dog 173 on the right-hand side of the ratchet bars 126, as to use this throw would inevitably cause the dog 173 to slide entirely over and miss one of the notches 166 during a single reciprocation of the feed lever 136.

During the final revolution of the shaft 4'7 in nailing the bottom slats on the crate, the dog 172 is brought into contact with the cam 169 on the ratchet bar 126 so as to restore this dog to upper disengaged position, as shown in Fig. 4, and the long movement of the lever 136 over the distance C during the final bottom nailing revolution of the shaft 47 accomplishes the partial feeding of the next lowermost slat in the magazine 220 so that this slat is in readiness to be positioned on the work at the commencement of the next operation which is the nailing of three slats on the remaining side of the crate to be covered. The nailing of these slats, of course, is accomplished in identically the same manner as in nailing the three slats on the first side of the crate, and. therefore need not be described in detail.

It is thus seen that I have produced a crate making machine which is adapted to feed the work beneath the nailing mechanism to provide different predetermined spacings of the nails on the sides and bottom of a crate, and in which this spacing is accomplished automatically incidental to the operation of the machine. It is also to be noted that I have provided a machine by which the spacing of nails in the sides and bottom of crates can be changed to suit the will of the operator merely by the substitution of a ratchet bar 126 and a hook arm control bar 132 which are designed to accomplish the required spacing. With my machine and a set of the ratchet and control bars for each particular type of crate which it is desired to construct, a large number of different types of crates can be built upon a single machine.

While I have shown and described but a single embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in this without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a crate making machine the combination'of: nailing table means to support the work on either of two levels; means to drive nails downwardly into said work while so supported; and means to feed said work beneath said nailing means between successive nailing operations to space the nails, one sequence of spacings being automatically produced with the work on one level and another sequence of spacings being automatically produced with the work on the other level.

4. A combination as in claim 1 in which at least one of the spacings of nails in one of said sequences is greater than two other consecutive spacings in the same sequence.

5. A combination as in claim 1 in which the spacings of nails inone of said sequences are unequal; and means for feeding a slat in place relative to said work'when said work is moved one of the longer of said spacings.

6 In a crate making machine the combination of: nailing table. means to support the work; means to drive nails downwardly into said work while so supported; means to intermittently feed said work beneath said nailing means with a plurality of different spacings; a reciprocating member for actuating said feed means, said member being reciprocated in response to each nailing operation of said nail driving means; and two ratchet means associating said reciprocating member with the work, each of said ratchet means when operative excluding the other from being operative.

7. In a work feeding mechanism, the combination of: an operating member having a recurring movement; a responsive work feeding member; ratchet means relating said members, said means having ratchet teeth spaced varying distances, certain of said distances being more than twice certain other of said distances; means for changing the extent of said recurring movement; and means associated with said responsive member for controlling said last aforementioned means.

8. In a work feeding mechanism, the combination of: an operating member having a recurring movement; a responsive work feeding member; a plurality of ratchet means relating said members, only one of said ratchet means being adapted to operate at a time; means for changing the extent of said recurring movement; and means associated with said responsive member for controlling said last aforementioned'means.

9. In a work feeding mechanism, the combination of: an operating member having a recurring movement; a responsive work feeding member; a plurality of ratchet means relating said members, only one of said ratchet means being adapted to operate at a time; means for changing the extent of said recurring movement; means associated with said responsive member for controlling said last aforementioned means; and means-associated with said responsive member for automatically rendering said ratchet means operative or inoperative.

10. In a crate making machine the combination of: nailing table means to support the work on either of two levels; means to drive nails into said work while so supported; an operating member having a recurring movement; a carriage adapted to feed said work beneath, said nailing means between successive nailing operations to space the nails; and two separate spacing means relating said carriage and said operating member for producing two separate sequences -of spacings, one of said spacing means being made operative automatically in response to properly positioning the work with the latter supported on one of said levels and the other spacing means being made operative automatically in response to properly positioning the work with the latter supported on the other of said levels, each of said spacing means when operative excluding the other from being operative.

11. In a crate making machine the combination of: a stationary nailing table to support the work at one level; a movable nailing table to support said work at another level; means to drive nails into said work while so supported; a work positioning carriage; power driven means to intermittently move said carriage horizontal- 1y relative to said tables to position said work in spaced nailing positions; and two control means associated with said carriage and said power driven means providing two difierent sequences of spacings of said work, said control means being made operative in response to movement of said movable table, each of said control means when operative excluding the other from being operative.

12. In a crate making machine the combination of: nailing table means to support the work at either of two levels; means to drive nails into said work when so supported; a carriage adapted to feed said work horizontally beneath said nailing means between successive nailing operations to space the nails; an operating member having a recurring movement for intermittenly moving said carriage; two ratchet means operatively relating said operating member and said carriage, each of said ratchets having a dog engageable therewith, said ratchets each being formed to provide a difierent sequence of spacings of said intermittent movement of said carriage; and means for positioning one of said dogs in operative position and the other dog in inoperative position in response to horizontal movement of said carriage.

13. In a crate making machine the combination of: a nailing table to support a pair of crate ends; nail driving means over said table; a slat storage magazine; a reciprocating carriage to intermittently move said crate ends to successive nailing positions; and means operating automatically and intermittently in timely relation with the movement of said carriage to feed slats from said magazine into position to be nailed to said crate ends.

14. In a crate making machine the combination of: work supporting means for supporting a pair of crate ends at either of two levels; nailing means over said work supporting means; a slat storage magazine; a reciprocating carriage to intermittently move said crate ends to successive nailing positions; and means associated with the movement of said carriage to feed slats from said magazine into position to be nailed to said crate ends, said slats being spaced differently on said two levels by said feed means.

15. In a crate making machine the combination of: a nailing table to support a pair of crate ends; nail driving means over said table; a straight line motion reciprocating work positioning carriage; power means for intermittently moving said carriage in a given direction to position said work in successive nailing positions; a slat storage magazine; and means for feeding a plurality of slats successively from said magazine into their proper nailing positions relative to said crate ends during each unbroken series of feeding movements of said carriage, the feeding of each slat coinciding with one of said work feeding movements of said carriage.

16. In a crate makin machine the combination of: a nailing table [10 support a pair of crate ends; nailing means over said table; a reciprocating work positioning carriage; a power driven reciprocating operating member; ratchet means relating said carriage and said operating member to intermittently move said carriage to successive nailing positions; a slat storage magazine; and means responsive to said operating member for feeding slats from said magazine into position to be nailed to said crate ends.

17. In a work feeding mechanism, the combination of: an operating member having a recurring movement; a responsive work feeding member'; and a plurality of ratchet means relating said members to cause said feeding member to be intermittently moved a predetermined sequence of distances by said operating member, only one of said ratchet means being operative at one time, each of said ratchet means causing sai-d feeding member to be intermittently moved a different sequence of distances.

18. A combination as in claim 17 in which means is provided to vary the extent of movement of said recurring member according to which one of said ratchet means is operative. I 19. In a crate making machine the combination of: a work supporting table; nailing means over said table; an operating member having a recurring movement; a work positioning carriage adapted to be intermittently moved by said operating member; means to vary the extent of movement of said operating member; a slat magazine; and means responsive to a given extent of movement of said operating member to feed a slat from said magazine to nailing position relative to said work.

20. In a crate making machine the combination of: a work supporting table; nailing means over said table; slat supporting means under said nailing means; an operating member having a recurring movement; a work positioning carriage adapted to be intermittently moved by said operating member; means to vary the extent of movement of said operating member; a slat magazine; and means responsive to a given extent of movement of said operating member to feed a slat from said magazine to said slat supporting means in proper vertical alignment with the work.

HALE PAXTON. 

